Libretto by Ivan Vsevolozhsky and Marius Petipa based on the fairy tales by Charles Perrault.

A resplendent fairytale ballet performed by the Bolshoi, The Sleeping Beauty features scores of magical characters including fairies, the Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, and a beautiful young Princess Aurora.

This is classical ballet at its finest.

The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet in a prologue and three acts, first performed in 1890. The music was by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The score was completed in 1889, and is the second of his three ballets. The original scenario was conceived by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and is based on Charles Perrault's La Belle au bois dormant. The choreographer of the original production was Marius Petipa.

The premiere performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1890. The work has become one of the classical repertoire's most famous ballets.

Synopsis

Prologue In the palace of King Florestan XIV the wedding of his daughter, Princess Aurora, is being celebrated. Master of Ceremonies Catalabutte is checking the invitation list. The Lilac Fairy and Good Fairies appear among the courtiers and the guests coming to congratulate the Princess. They bring the newborn infant gifts, endowing her with the finest human attributes. Suddenly, a great noise is heard. The evil and powerful Carabosse Fairy drives into the ballroom with her repulsive suite. They forgot to invite her to the wedding. An irate Carabosse predicts that Aurora will die young from pricking her finger with a knitting spindle. But the Lilac Fairy intervenes: she predicts that the forces of good will neutralize the sinister spell. With a peremptory gesture, she forces Carabosse to leave the palace.

Act I It is Princess Aurora’s sixteenth birthday. Four foreign princes have come to ask for her hand. At the height of the festivities, an old woman with a knitting spindle appears at the Princess’s side. Trustful Aurora takes it and continues to dance. Suddenly, she stops dancing and looks with horror at her finger which she has accidentally pricked with the spindle. Overcome by deadly cold, Aurora falls to the ground. The unknown old woman throws off her hood — it is the Carabosse Fairy! Her curse has come to pass. Whirling around maliciously, she disappears with a cackle. But the Lilac Fairy appears on the scene — she has the power to mitigate the evil spell. Aurora is not dead — she has fallen asleep. She will be brought back to life by the passionate kiss of a handsome Prince. The Lilac Fairy plunges the whole kingdom into a deep sleep.

Act IIScene 1 Surrounded by grandees, Prince Desire is whiling away the time in the royal park. He is overcome by melancholy. And, as if in answer to his call, the Lilac Fairy appears before him. She summons up a vision of Aurora, surrounded by divine beings — the Nereids. The enchanted Prince hurries after the beautiful image but, at the wave of the Lilac Fairy’s wand, it vanishes. Désiré implores the Lilac Fairy to search for the beautiful maiden. And the Lilac Fairy invites the Prince to sail in her magic craft to the bewitched castle.

Scene 2 Gloom and desolation reign in the sleeping kingdom. It is guarded by the evil Carabosse Fairy. The Lilac Fairy and Prince Desire rapidly approach the castle. The wicked old woman and her suite try to conceal Aurora but, in vain — the Prince catches sight of the sleeping beauty. Completely won over by her charm, the Prince tenderly kisses the Princess — and the evil spell is broken! Carabosse and her suite vanish. Aurora wakes up and the royal kingdom comes to life too. As soon as the Princess sets eyes on her deliverer, love is born in her heart. Desire asks the King and Queen for their daughter’s hand in marriage.

Epilogue Fairy-tale characters have come to Aurora and Desire’s wedding: Princess Florine and Blue Bird, The White Cat and Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood and The Gray Wolf, Cinderella and Prince Fortune. The Prince and Princess dance in a harmonious and solemn duet. The Lilac Fairy and her suite bless the happy couple.

Peter Tchaikovsky "The Sleeping Beauty" (Ballet in two acts)on the schedule